Wine
Lula Cellars
vineyards
Lula Cellars Pinot Noir wines
from Mendocino County, which is
not only one of California’s cooler
appellations with sunny days and
cool, foggy nights, but also the
largest US producer of organic
wines. Lula Cellars is in the long,
narrow Anderson Valley, known as
one of the top Pinot Noir regions
in North America.
I tasted several 2012 wines and one
2013 wine from Lula Cellars. By
combining the abundance of the
fertile valley, the cool foggy nights
and sunny days with years of
experience and just the right amount
of aging in oak barrels, Lula Cellars
has created some world-class wines
and is sure to offer exceptional
wines for many years to come.
There are several different Pinot
Noirs offered by Lula Cellars. The
2012 Mendocino Pinot Noir is a blend
of pinot grapes using four different
Pinot Noir clones from two coastal
vineyards, both planted in 1998.
The blend of this wine is 35 percent
Pommard, 30 percent Dijon #115,
15 percent Dijon #777 and 20
percent Dijon #667 clones. The wine
is handmade in small fermentation
vats, with no pumps or mechanical
devices used during the
fermentation process. Hansen ages
each clone separately for 12 months
in 50 percent new French oak
barrels, blends the wines, and then
returns the blended wine to the
barrels for six more months.
The 2012 Mendocino Pinot Noir,
which sells for $45 per bottle, is
surprisingly complex for such a new
cellar, obviously reflecting Hansen’s
years of expertise. The nose on this
one had a classic Pinot Noir sweetspicy, reminiscent of roses and
coriander with cherries. The flavor
is full of luscious ripe black cherry
and has a nice balanced acidity.
Hansen suggests pairing it with
something like a pork Milanese.
My favorite Pinot Noir at Lula,
however, was the 2012 Costa
Vineyards Pinot Noir. This one is
bottled from grapes that grow on
five acres in the nearby coastal
mountain town of Comptche. That
coastal climate is ideal for producing
this full-bodied Pinot Noir. The
wine is 65 percent Pommard and
35 percent Dijon #115 clones grown
in the same vineyard. Again, the
fermentation process is completely
non-mechanized; the two wines age
separately for 12 months in 50
percent new French oak, are blended
and then aged for an additional six
months. This is an absolutely
gorgeous ruby wine, perfectly
balanced and full-bodied. The first
aromas are that subtle rose and
a deep earthiness that comes from
the coastal area of Mendocino. The
flavors of ripe raspberries bring the
wine to life and the finish of plum is
finessed with that idea amount of
oak aging. I literally felt as if I were
tasting the very soul of Mendocino
when I drank this wine, which sells
for $45 per bottle.
beautifully with braised lamb shanks.
Dry Gewürztraminer
The 2013 Mendocino Dry
Gewürtztraminer comes from grapes
that grow in the hills near Ukiah.
There are some Gewürtztraminers
that don’t seem quite so balanced,
ending up either too sweet or
without any taste of the fruit.
The Lula Cellars Gewürtztraminer,
however, offers a nice balance with
lovely tangerine notes and a crisp
acidity and subtle spices that make
it a pleasure to drink. It made me
want to go grab some seafood
(maybe the local Dungeness crabs),
Lula Cellars Zinfandel
The 2012 Mendocino Zinfandel
is from grapes grown at Mariah
Vineyards on Mendocino Ridge. The
vineyard, planted in 1980, is dry
farmed, with no irrigation other
than the natural winter rains. The
wine is fruit forward with lovely
aromas of blackberry jam. The t